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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22805590">People Give In</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sleepflowerrr/pseuds/Sleepflowerrr'>Sleepflowerrr</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Manic Street Preachers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, feederism</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 06:48:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,440</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22805590</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sleepflowerrr/pseuds/Sleepflowerrr</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Nicky is worried that Richey is too thin so he attempts to feed him up a bit</p><p>idk where I'm going with this book but whatever</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Richey Edwards/Nicky Wire</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The First Plan</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This contains feederism so if you don't like it you font have to read this :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They stared at each other from the opposite sides of the table, silently waiting.</p><p>Eventually, Nicky spoke up. "Look, mate," he said. "If you're not gonna eat it, leave it."</p><p>Richey blinked once, then slowly stood up, taking his plate with him. He placed it on the counter near the table.</p><p>Nicky watched him. Even though he wanted him to eat something, he knew that he wasn't getting anywhere with that today.</p><p>Tomorrow, he told himself. He had a plan, and he'd put it into action tomorrow.</p><p>Not that he wanted to use that plan. But he felt as though there was no other option. A few months ago, Richey had began eating drastically less. He had become painfully thin over that time.</p><p>Nicky hated seeing him like this. He had to change things somehow. So he had come up with the plan.</p><p>He hadn't even told James or Sean about it. He wanted to keep it secret from everyone, because he knew that if he told anyone about it, they'd most likely try to stop him. No, this was something he had to do on his own.</p><p>"I'm gonna go to bed," Richey suddenly said, snapping Nicky out of his thoughts.</p><p>"Uh... yeah. Ok," he replied. They stared at each other for a moment, until Richey eventually walked off. Nicky stared after him.</p><p>He looked so weak, he thought. But soon that would change.</p><p> </p><p>He waited until the next day, until the other three had gone out for the day. They wanted him to come too, but he made up some excuse of being really tired. They believed him, and he was free to begin preparing.</p><p>He started by baking some cakes. He wasn't the best at cooking, but he had been secretly practising in his spare time, and was good enough to make something remotely edible. After the cakes, he made some pizzas. Along with countless trays of cookies.</p><p>He laid the food on the table, and some of it on the counter since there wasn't enough space on the table for all of it. Then he sat on a chair and patiently waited for the others to come back.</p><p>They returned in about a half an hour after Nicky had finished making the food. They walked into the kitchen and when they saw all the food, they stopped.</p><p>"What's all this?" James asked, his face lighting up.</p><p>"Nothing," Nicky replied hastily, catching Richey's gaze. He looked as confused as the other two. Nicky stood up and walked to him. "You stay here," he whispered in his ear, then turned to the others. "You guys can go... somewhere."</p><p>Still looking puzzled, they nodded. "Ok, Nicky.."</p><p>Nicky sighed in relief, glad that they didn't ask any awkward questions that would give his secret away.</p><p>"Hey, what's going on--" Richey was interrupted by Nicky pulling him over to the table.</p><p>"This is for you," he said, gesturing to the masses of food. "You're welcome."</p><p>Richey scanned the table. "Um... thanks, I guess."</p><p>Nicky sat him down on the chair that he was previously sitting on. "You must eat it all before you can leave," he instructed Richey.</p><p>He thought he saw a glimmer of panic behind Richey's eyes when he said this, but he couldn't be sure. He picked up a muffin and held it out to Richey.</p><p>He took it, staring at it doubtfully, as if he thought it was poisonous. Then he slowly took a small bite of it.</p><p>"This is... actually nice," he said quietly. He sounded surprised, Nicky thought. Probably because he was famous for being terrible at cooking.</p><p>He took another bite, and another, until the cake was gone. Then he stood up, and looked at Nicky. "I'm gonna go now..."</p><p>"No," Nicky heard his voice sharpen. "You have to stay here to eat all this."</p><p>"But I couldn't. You know that," Richey protested, staring fearfully up at his friend. "I've got to be thin."</p><p>"Not this thin." Nicky grabbed Richey's arm. "Please, just do this for me."</p><p>He stared into Nicky's light blue eyes for a moment, before reluctantly nodding. "Fine."</p><p>Nicky smiled, relieved. For a moment he was scared that his plan was going to be ruined. He picked up a tray of cookies and set it in front of Richey. "Eat these."</p><p>Richey ate them slowly, glancing wearily around the room and if he was expecting something to happen. "I cant believe you actually baked all these," he said, his mouth full of cookies.</p><p>"Yeah, well, I've been practicing recently," Nicky replied.</p><p>"They're good." Richey said, and then went silent for a minute.  The two of them glanced at each other shyly.</p><p>Nicky broke the silence first. "So... do y'want to do this tomorrow too?"</p><p>"No," Richey said immediately, and Nicky felt his heart sink. "This is a one-off.  I never agreed to it, anyway."</p><p>"But--"</p><p>"Leave it, Nicky." Richey turned away from him.</p><p>Nicky felt defeated. It was all going so well. Why did he have to say anything at all?</p><p>He took a deep breath. Ok, he thought. I need another plan.</p><p>He needed to be more subtle thus time. More secretive. And he had an idea of how he'd pull that off.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Succsess</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next day, Nicky offered to cook dinner. Predictably, James was surprised at this.</p><p>"I thought you hated cooking and stuff," he said.</p><p>"Yeah... but y'know when I made all that cake yesterday? It was actually kind of fun. I want to try out cooking again."</p><p>James looked like he wanted to protest against this, but he didn't say anything. So Nicky ended up cooking a pizza and some chips that night. Even he could heat up some pizza and chips.</p><p>They all sat at the table and began eating. None of them spoke. The only one who wasn't eating was Richey, who was staring blankly at his plate as usual.</p><p>It was time, Nicky thought, looking over at his friend.</p><p>"So, uh... Richey. Write any songs lately?" He asked brightly.</p><p>Richey looked up. "Yeah, sort of. Why?"</p><p>"Just wondering."</p><p>Richey stared at Nicky as if he thought he was stupid. "Ok..." he said slowly. Then he looked downwards again.</p><p>At first Nicky thought his plan had failed again, and he would have to come up with yet another one, but then, just as he had hoped, Richey picked up a slice of pizza and nibbled it gently.</p><p>The plan was to chat to Richey, who hated small talk. So he would eat just to avoid talking.</p><p>And it had worked.</p><p>Nicky smiled to himself. He had to do a lot of talking to get Richey to finish all the food, but he was sure that his plan had succeeded. He chatted for an hour and a half with Richey. They talked about books, music, anything Nicky could think of. Eventually, Richey had eaten everything on his plate.</p><p>"Ok, that's all I wanted to say," Nicky announced. Then he stood up and walked out the room, leaving Richey to wonder what just happened. As soon as he was out of the room, he flung his arms out with joy. "Yessss!"</p><p>"What are you doing, Nicky?" James suddenly appeared in the hallway. </p><p>"Oh, nothing," Nicky replied, still smiling.</p><p>"Alright then." James pushed past Nicky into the kitchen.  A few seconds later, Nicky heard him shout, "Richey, you actually ate ALL your dinner?"</p><p>"Yes, apparently," was Richey's quiet reply. "I only ate it so I didn't have to listen to Nicky trying to tell me why he thought Sleepflower is the best song that we've ever recorded."</p><p>"It's not," James said. "It's too polished. Anyway, I hope you keep this up for the next few weeks."</p><p>"Oh, I don't think I could do that," Nicky heard Richey say. He could almost imagine his expression; his brown eyes widened, his jaw clenched.</p><p>"Still, it would be good for you," James replied, and walked back out of the kitchen.</p><p>Nicky watched him go, then slipped back into the kitchen. He found Richey still sitting at the table, staring into space with a thoughtful expression on his face.</p><p>"Hey," Nicky said, and Richey jumped, startled.</p><p>"Hi, Nicky. I didn't hear you come in," he said after calming down. "I was just thinking about... stuff."</p><p>"What stuff?"</p><p>"I don't really know. Anyway," Richey stood up hastily. "I've got to go."</p><p>"Ok..." Nicky wondered if Richey was scared of what had happened. If he knew him like he thought he did, he was sure that he'd be panicking, trying to figure out just how much he had eaten. That's what he had been like for the last month.</p><p>He watched Richey run out of the kitchen. Well, he thought, I'm not going to let him stop me from getting him to eat.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry it's a short ish chapter. I'll try and make the next one longer for you guys :))</p><p>Also thanks for all the reads on this so far. I didn't really expect to get any since I'm new to this website</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A Few Mistakes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A week went by without any trouble for anyone. Every day Nicky managed to trick Richey into eating. He never seemed to suspect anything, but Nicky knew that he couldn't be too careful.</p><p>But even though Richey didn't notice anything, the other two did. It was impossible not to notice, really. One minute Richey was hardly eating anything, the next he was finishing the entire plate.</p><p>"Richey's getting on well, isn't he?" James said to Nicky one day.</p><p>"Yeah," he replied nonchalantly. "It's miraculous, really."</p><p>"I wonder how it happened, though," Sean said suddenly. "I mean, it all just seems a bit sudden."</p><p>Nicky stiffened. "Yes, well I guess he just finally decided to listen to us."</p><p>The other two exchanged a glance. "Makes sense," James said eventually.</p><p>"It makes loads of sense," Nicky agreed, trying to end the conversation.</p><p>Just then Richey walked in. "What are you all talking about?" he asked innocently.</p><p>The three of them spun around sharply. "N-nothing," Nicky replied hastily. "Just about..." he quickly tried to think of something, anything, and failed. "...something."</p><p>"Right," Richey said, sitting next to them on the couch. He clearly didn't believe them. "Well, I just came in to say that I was thinking of going out somewhere later, so there is no need to make me dinner."</p><p>"No!" Nicky shouted. "Uh... I mean, you can't go out tonight. It's... er, my... cat's... birthday. Yeah, and we're all having a party."</p><p>Richey stared at him. "You don't have a cat," he said slowly.</p><p>"I do now."</p><p>"Since when?"</p><p>"Yesterday. Yeah, I got it yesterday. It's name is... Kevin."</p><p>"Kevin," Richey repeated, his lips twitching.</p><p>"Yes." Nicky knew Richey didn't believe him at all, but he had to do something to keep him here.</p><p>"Well, if you really want me to stay here THAT badly..." Richey began after what seemed like an eternity.</p><p>"Yes!" Nicky threw his arms around Richey. "Thank you!"</p><p>Richey pulled away quickly. "Yeah, whatever." He looked kind of concerned, thought Nicky. But he didn't think anything of it.</p><p>He went off and cooked dinner. Tonight he made macaroni cheese. He gave Richey a larger portion than the other two and him. Although, he thought, he might've gave him a bit TOO much because when James and Sean came into the kitchen, they stared at Richey's plate with perplexed expressions on their faces.</p><p>"Ah well, since he's doing so well I thought I'd give him a bit more, you know, to speed things up a bit," Nicky said, trying to style it out.</p><p>To his relief, James nodded approvingly. "Sounds good."</p><p>They all sat down at the table, and Nicky became his long and boring, one-sided conversation with Richey, who immediately started eating the pile of macaroni cheese, his head bent low to avoid eye contact with anyone.</p><p>He took longer than usual, however. Probably because there was so much there. But Nicky knew that the worst thing he could do was rush him. After all, weirdly enough, he was enjoying watching Richey eat. He wasn't sure why though.</p><p>James and Sean had been finished for about an hour by the time Richey had finished. "That was actually pretty good, Nicky," he commented, leaning back in his chair.</p><p>Nicky felt his heart swell with happiness. It was the first time Richey had complimented the food. That must be a good sign.</p><p>Suddenly Richey appeared to wince in pain. Nicky glanced down at him. "Rich... are you ok?"</p><p>"Y-yeah," Richey replied, clutching his stomach.</p><p>"You sure?"</p><p>He nodded.</p><p>Nicky shrugged. "Alright then."</p><p> </p><p>A few more weeks past without any trouble. Richey was pretty much at normal weight now. Nicky made sure he wouldn't notice by replacing his clothes with bigger ones. He seemed to be oblivious.</p><p>One problem though: there was one set of clothes he couldn't find bigger sizes for, as they were sold out. Nicky just had to hope that Richey wouldn't wear them.</p><p>It was all going fine until today.</p><p>Richey walked downstairs, tugging at the shirt that he was wearing. The one Nicky couldn't find a replacement for.</p><p>"I think my clothes shrunk in the wash or something," he said to Nicky. "They feel really tight all of a sudden."</p><p>"Yeah, that's probably what happened," Nicky agreed.</p><p>He couldn't help staring at how tight the clothes really were. The buttons of his shirt seemed to be almost bursting open.</p><p>He wondered how much it would take for them to break. I'd better not give him too much to eat for dinner today, he thought.</p><p>He made a small salad, with a few slices of chicken. Much smaller than the usual stuff he had been making over the last few weeks. Richey finished it really quickly. But instead of running out of the kitchen like he used did when he finished, he just sat there, staring at Nicky with his big dark eyes.</p><p>"I'm... actually still hungry..." he whispered, blushing slightly.</p><p>Nicky smiled, but tried to hide it. "Oh, ok. Do you want some more?"</p><p>Richey nodded slightly. "I guess."</p><p>This is amazing, thought Nicky as he put some more lettuce and chicken on Richey's plate. Not too much, he hoped.</p><p>Richey looked down at the plate, then back up at Nicky. "Um, can I ask you something?" He asked.</p><p>"You just did."</p><p>Richey laughed shakily. "Yeah, I guess I did. Well, I was wondering if... if you could feed me?" He whispered the last few words so Nicky had to strain to hear him.</p><p>"Ok, if you want," he answered. He picked up one of the leaves and held it up to Richey, who ate it obediently. As he did this, Nicky felt an unfamiliar rush of excitement. He had no idea why, but he was enjoying feeding Richey like this.</p><p>They went on like that until he had cleared the plate again.</p><p>"Alright, I'm full now," Richey murmured. As he leaned back, Nicky heard a loud popping sound. Glancing down at Richey, his suspicions were confirmed. Two of the buttons on Richey's shirt had popped.</p><p>Richey looked down too, and immediately froze. "Oh no..." he whispered, his voice shaking.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry this took so long!!! And I just remembered I forgot to edit it... -_-</p><p>Anyway I'm thinking of making another feederism about the manics... maybe focusing on James? So I'll try to post that soon!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. No More Secrets</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They both stared each other, fear in their eyes. Nicky had never meant for this to happen. He was sure it would ruin everything. Everything he had carefully planned over the last few weeks was all a waste now.</p><p>Suddenly Richey spoke. 'Well... I guess I need new clothes now..."</p><p>To Nicky's suprise, there was no sadness or despair in Richey's voice, as he had expected. Instead, he sort of sounded... excited...?</p><p>"Are you okay, Rich?" Nicky asked him. His friend stared up at him. "I... I guess so," he replied. "I mean, it was a bit of a surprise at first, but it was bound to happen at some point, right?"</p><p>Nicky blinked. "W-what do you mean?"</p><p>"I kind of expected it to happen, you know, since you've been making me eat a lot recently," Richey said casually.</p><p>"Who told you I was making you eat?"</p><p>"I figured it out myself. It was pretty obvious."</p><p>Nicky felt himself blush. He thought he was being subtle, but obviously that wasn't true. "And... and you don't mind?" He dared ask.</p><p>"At first, no, but I grew into it. Literally." Richey laughed slightly.</p><p>Nicky was flooded with relief. "So... you want to carry on with it? Until you're at a more healthy weight?"</p><p>Richey nodded. "Yeah. And if you don't mind, I'd like to go on a bit more too."</p><p>"R-really?"</p><p>"Yeah."</p><p>This was going better than Nicky ever had imagined! He was sort of embarrassed to admit it, but he loved watching Richey eat. It filled him with a sense of pleasure which he couldn't reproduce anywhere else.</p><p>Suddenly he had an idea. "You think you could pop the buttons on your other shirts too?" He teased.</p><p>Richey blushed, but quickly composed himself. "I accept the challenge," he replied with the same teasing tone in his voice as Nicky.</p><p>He ran upstairs to put on another shirt, and returned to the kitchen quickly. This shirt was much looser on him, and he was already pretty full. Nicky wondered if the challenge was a good idea. Maybe he should take back the bet?</p><p>But Richey looked confident as he slid onto the chair he had previously been perched on. "Ok. What's first?" He asked, looking up at Nicky expectantly.</p><p>On cue, Nicky went to the fridge and brought out a huge chocolate cake. "I was saving it for James, Sean and me," he explained. "I didn't think you'd eat it."</p><p>Richey didn't answer. Instead, he took a knife and cut a big slice of the cake. Then he immediately began devouring it. It wasn't long before he finished it, and cut another slice. Nicky watched in fascination as he ate it just as quickly as he had with the first slice.</p><p>"Where are the others?" Richey suddenly asked. "I don't want them to see me like this."</p><p>"They're both out, I think," Nicky replied. At least he hoped they were, anyway.</p><p>Richey finished the second slice and moved onto the third one. By now he had visibly started to slow down.</p><p>"You can do it, Rich," Nicky coaxed him. He nodded and began eating the cake slightly faster.</p><p>Eventually he finished that slice. As he cut another one, Nicky stole a glance at his belly. It was protruding slightly, pushing against his shirt.</p><p>A few more slices, he thought, at those buttons will be gone.</p><p>And he was right. Just as Richey finished the fifth slice, the two buttons in the middle of his shirt popped right off. They both froze, then began laughing hysterically.</p><p>"I win the bet," Richey said when both had calmed down. "Do I get a reward."</p><p>Nicky smiled seductively. "Of course you do," he whispered, gently caressing Richey's belly.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry to leave guys on a cliffhanger but I think you all know where this is going!!! I'll try to get the next chapter up soon!!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Kisses and Questions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They walked upstairs together,  hand in hand. Neither of them didn't really know what was going to happen - they were just going to go with the flow.</p><p>"What are you planning, Nicky?" Richey asked, his eyes glittering with anticipation. </p><p>"You'll see..." Nicky replied mysteriously., though Richey thought he could hear a slight note of uncertainty in his voice.</p><p>When they got to the top of the stairs, Nicky paused to listen, to make sure no one else was up here. But the house seemed completely quiet.</p><p>They stepped into the nearest bedroom and Nicky shut the door firmly behind them.</p><p>"Right," he said softly, almost to himself. "So, um... I haven't actually planned anything--"</p><p>Richey interrupted him by kissing him gently. "Don't say anything," he whispered. "Just being here, alone with you is fine for me."</p><p>Nicky's eyes widened, mostly in surprise. He hadn't been expecting Richey to act like this. He was usually shy when it came to, well, anything.</p><p>He kissed him back, and for a while they just stood there. But then Richey broke away from him. "Nicky..." he whispered. "Everything's a mess. I don't know what to do."</p><p>Nicky wrapped his arms around him. "Its going to be ok," he said reassuringly.</p><p>"No it's not," Richey replied. "I've been thinking recently. Maybe... maybe it'll be better for everyone if I left the band."</p><p>"What? No! You can't." The words slipped out before Nicky could do anything. "I mean... wait until we discuss this with the others. You can't just leave without telling anyone."</p><p>Something in Richey's eyes told Nicky that was exactly what he had planned to do.</p><p>"No..." Nicky said again, turning away from Richey. "I won't let you."</p><p>He thought about earlier, when they were both happy, when he was feeding Richey that cake. If he left, would they ever get to do that again? He had thought things were finally improving, that Richey was getting better, but obviously that wasn't the case.</p><p>Just then the door opened and James walked in, startling them both.</p><p>"I thought you were out," Nicky said.</p><p>"Yeah I was - I just came back a minute ago. And... what were you two doing?"</p><p>Nicky blushed. They weren't doing anything persè, but it was more the fact that James thought they were that embarrassed him.</p><p>"N-nothing," he murmured eventually. "We weren't doing anything, just talking, you know."</p><p>James looked like he didn't believe him, even though it was the truth. "Alright then," he eventually said. He turned to leave, but Nicky stopped him.</p><p>"Richey wants to leave the band," he blurted out suddenly.</p><p>James turned around. "Why?"</p><p>"It'll be better. For all of us," Richey spoke for the first time since James had come in. "It's pointless, having me here. I can't do anything. All I do is write lyrics. Anyone could do that."</p><p>"We need you here, Richey." Nicky ignored his last statement.  "If you left... well, I don't think we'd last."</p><p>James was silent throughout all this, and Nicky looked at him for help. After a moment, he said, "Nick's right, Richey. We need you."</p><p>Richey sort of looked scared for a moment, but he eventually sighed and said, "Fine. I'll stay."</p><p>Nicky felt a wave of relief wash over him. For him it wasn't just keeping Richey in the band. When he fed him earlier, he felt something he hadn't felt before. And he wanted to feel it again. He knew that if Richey left, he most likely would never see him again, never feel what he had earlier again.</p><p>Nothing else noteworthy happened that night. The three of them all acted as if nothing had happened, but in the atmosphere you could still feel the tense mood.</p><p>Nicky let his mind wander the next day. Would Richey let him feed him again? Or was earlier that day just a spur in the moment? Maybe tomorrow he would be scared and cold again.</p><p>But maybe it would be the opposite.  Maybe he would let him feed him. Maybe he had felt the same way Nicky had.</p><p>There was only one way to find out.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>You were probably all expecting some spicy sex scene in this chapter but... idk I guess I can't write stuff like that. But I can write feederism lmao... though there wasn't that much - if not any - today :))</p><p>Anyway I hope you all enjoyed today's chapter. Leave a comment letting me know your thoughts, and any constructive criticism is appreciated!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Into Thin Air</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next day, Nicky spent hours baking assorted cakes and biscuits. He had to get this just right if he was going to do this without somehow scaring Richey off.</p><p>While he was waiting for some sugar cookies to bake, he glanced out of the window. The late winter sun was high in the sky. Nicky had heard Richey leave the house earlier that morning, before the sun had even risen over the horizon. He wondered when he'd be back.</p><p>Hopefully soon, Nicky thought. I think I have everything I need for now. After all, he's never been out this long.</p><p>The sugar cookies had baked by now, so Nicky carefully pulled the out of the oven and placed them next to the others. He couldn't wat to feed them to Richey later. He just knew he'd love them.</p><p>He sat on a chair and waited. And waited some more. He waited until the sun had set back under the horizon. Until the sky had darkened to an indigo colour.</p><p>Nicky felt a sharp stab of dread. Richey should've been back by now. Had something happened to him?</p><p>He jumped up. He had to go find him.</p><p>Nicky ran outside and bolted down the road, glancing around everywhere for signs of his friend. But he couldn't find anything. He started to panic as he ran round the corner and looked up and down the long streets.</p><p>But it was in vain. Richey seemed to have disappeared.</p><p>No. This couldn't happen. He had to be somewhere. Maybe he had gone to a friend's house? But it wasn't like Richey to not tell someone where he was going beforehand. And he had gone out so early...</p><p>Nicky ran back to the house and into the living room where Sean and James were. "Have any if you seen Richey today?" He asked breathlessly.</p><p>They both shook their heads. "I haven't seen him since yesterday," James replied. "I heard him leave the house early this morning."</p><p>"He isn't back yet," Nicky explained. "I thought maybe he might've called either of you."</p><p>"Haven't heard from him at all today," James said. "He's not back yet? I would've thought he'd be back long before now. Any idea where he is?"</p><p>"No," Nicky shivered at the thought of Richey out on his own on this cold night. He had seemed so sad yesterday, and Nicky couldn't help thinking that it had something to do with him going out so early this morning.</p><p>Eventually they all agreed that they should all go to bed and see if Richey was back the next morning. So they did, though Nicky found it very hard to fall asleep with all the possibilities spinning around his head. What could've happened to him?</p><p> </p><p>Richey wasn't back by the next day. Or the next. Or any day. He was gone. It was like he had never existed.</p><p>Nicky blamed himself. If he hadn't forced Richey to let him feed him, he might've been fine. He could've got better on his own. He could've been still here now.</p><p>Everyone told him it wasn't his fault, it was no one's fault. Richey was probably planning to disappear for months, years maybe. But nothing anyone said could drive away the guilt Nicky always felt every time someone mentioned Richey. </p><p>But now, even 25 years later, Nicky still held onto a sliver of hope that one day, Richey might return. Maybe if he never let go of that hope, it might come true.</p><p>And yet he still always felt that guilt, he was happy. Maybe Richey would never come back. Maybe they'd all simply die without knowing what became of him, but he wasn't going to let the feeling that it was all his fault stop him from living his life.</p><p>He would get through this.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Bit a weird ending but I hope you all enjoyed reading this admittedly messy and not very thought out story!!! I'll be updating Hanging On soon so stay tuned for that, and I might write a new story too idk</p><p>Any feedback in the comments will be appreciated a lot</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'll publish the next chapter hopefully soon :)) I hope you all liked this first chapter</p></blockquote></div></div>
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